Indians 2, Astros 1: Matt Carson plays hero in 11-inning win

Matt Carson? Seriously?
Hey, it’s September.
Anything goes.
Thursday night, Matt the Bat lined a two-out, bases-loaded single to right field in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Indians an exhausting 2-1 victory over the Astros.
“We’ll take a win any way we can. Our guys kept plugging, and we did some good things to win the game,” Tribe manager Terry Francona said.
The win went to Bryan Shaw (5-3), who pitched a scoreless top of the 11th.
With one out in the bottom of the 11th, Yan Gomes singled to left, and Asdrubal Cabrera reached on an infield single off reliever Rhiner Cruz (0-2). After Michael Brantley lined out to center for the second out, Mike Aviles drew a walk, loading the bases.
Carson then ended it with his single to right. The 31-year-old journeyman outfielder was a September callup from Columbus, but since joining the Indians, Carson is hitting a whopping .778 (7-for-9).
“That’s the pinnacle for me at this point in my career,” Carson said. “It wasn’t do or die. If I get a hit, we win. If I don’t, we’re still in the ballgame. I was trying to get a good solid swing, but it wasn’t a pressure at-bat.”
As Carson rounded first, the Indians poured out of the dugout and mobbed him in the infield.
“It’s the greatest feeling,” Carson said. “I have done it plenty of times with other guys. To be the guy getting mobbed, it feels good.”
The win allows the Indians to keep pace in the American League wild-card race. They are a half-game out of the second wild-card spot.
In the top of the ninth inning, the Indians dodged not just a bullet but a cannonball.
Chris Perez gave up a double, hit a batter and walked a batter to load the bases with one out.
But Perez struck out Brett Wallace and L.J. Hoes to end that threat.
“Once he wavered, he started making his pitches. I felt like he’d find a way to get out of it,” Francona said.
The Indians had a chance to break a 1-1 tie in the eighth inning against lefty reliever Kevin Chapman. With one out Nick Swisher singled, his fourth hit of the game, tying his career high.
Jason Kipnis followed with a single, and the Indians had runners at first and second with one out.
But Chapman struck out Carlos Santana and Gomes to end that rally.
Tribe starter Ubaldo Jimenez, who more than anyone has picked up the slack from the loss of injured Justin Masterson, was terrific again. Jimenez worked seven innings, allowing one run on six hits, with nine strikeouts and no walks.
“We’re leaning on him, and he’s enjoying it. Every five days he’s answering the bell,” Francona said.
“It feels great being out there for the team, knowing I can make a difference,” Jimenez said. “Right now, every game means something.”
In four starts in September, Jimenez is 3-0 with a 0.64 ERA. In 28 1/3 innings he has allowed two earned runs on 25 hits, with 31 strikeouts and three walks.
This was seemingly a good matchup for Jimenez. He came into the game with a career record of 4-0 and a 2.49 ERA vs. the Astros.
Jimenez also came into the game having struck out 10 batters in three of his last five starts, while the Astros came into the game having struck out 1,424 times, the most in the major leagues — by 124.
Sure enough, Jimenez struck out seven of the first 17 batters he faced, and fanned nine overall, with no walks.
Houston starter Dallas Keuchel pitched his first career complete game vs. the Indians, beating the Tribe, 8-1, in June of last year. The Indians reached Keuchel for a run in the first inning Thursday, but the 25-year-old left-hander held them scoreless for the next six.
In the Tribe’s first inning, Swisher doubled off the left-field wall, the first of his four hits, and scored on a single by Kipnis, who snapped his personal 0-for-11 slide.
The Astros tied it with a run in the second inning when they loaded the bases with no outs, but Jimenez minimized the damage by only giving up a sacrifice fly.
The Indians’ attempts to take the lead were thwarted by double plays, two of them, both hit into by Kipnis, in the third and sixth innings.
Keuchel came into the game with a record of 1-4 and 6.63 ERA since Aug. 2, but you would never know it by this game. From the second through the 10th inning, Houston pitchers held the Indians scoreless on seven hits.
That all changed in the 11th.Box score